The swupd.plist file used to daisy chain multiple servers so they act as a cascade of software update servers. The new path for the property list is /Library/Server/Software Update/Config/swupd.plist. Here, the metaIndexURL key is sill the location that points to an internal Software Update Server that the server you are editing should look to for updates.

The default server is http://swscan.apple.com/content/meta/mirror-config-1.plist. To set a server to look at another internal server for software updates, edit the metaIndexURL key in the /Library/Server/Software Update/Config/swupd.plist file to include the path to the new server. The path should always have /content/meta/mirror-config-1.plist after the FQDN of the host name. So if your internal software update server was called daneel.foundation.lan the command to set that as the upstream software update server would be:

This is a minor change, but one that might be frustrating if you were still trying to cascade updates the old way. If you’re new to cascading updates, this is a pretty straight forward configuration change, run from a Terminal command. It’s also worth noting that there are a few other settings in this file that could come in handy. You can limit bandwidth using the limitBandwidth key, purge any old updates using the PurgeUnused key, set a max download speed using the maxDownloadSpeed key, configure the Software Update Server TCP port using the portToUse key (automatically set to 8088), change the path to the updates (e.g. if you mv them and then want to repoint to the new location without downloading them all again) using the updatesDocRoot key, etc. Overall, the settings align with the old settings, but just in a new place.

Note: The keys above correspond to settings found in the following command:

OS X Yosemite running the Server app has a lot of scripts used for enabling services, setting states, changing hostnames and the like. Once upon a time there was a script for OS X Server called server setup. It was a beautiful but too simplistic kind of script. Today, much of that logic has been moved out into more granular scripts, kept in /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/ServerSetup, used by the server to perform all kinds of tasks. These scripts are, like a lot of other things in Yosemite Server. Some of these include the configuration of amavisd, docecot and alerts. These scripts can also be used for migrating services and data. Sometimes the scripts are in bash, sometimes ruby, sometimes perl and other times even python. And the scripts tend to change year over year/release over release.

One of the things that can can be useful about the scripts scattered throughout the Server app is to learn how the developers of OS X Server intend for certain tasks to occur.

Looking At Services

This is also where I learned that Apple had put an Open Directory backup script in /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/libexec/server_backup/opendirectorybackup (that still requires a password). But what I haven’t seen in all of these logs is bumping up the logging level for services before performing tasks, so that you can see a verbose output of what’s going on. To do this, it looks like we’re going service-by-service. So let’s look alphabetically, starting with Address Book:

sudo serveradmin settings addressbook:DefaultLogLevel = “warn”

This by defualt logs to /var/log/caldavd/error.log, which is built based on the following, which sets the base:

sudo serveradmin settings addressbook:LogRoot=/var/log/caldavd

And the following, which sets the file name in that directory:

sudo serveradmin settings addressbook:ErrorLogFile=error.log

You can change either by changing what comes after the = sign. Next is afp. This service logs output to two places. The first is with errors to the service, using /Library/Logs/AppleFileService/AppleFileServiceError.log, the path designated in the following:

The activity log is disabled by default and enabled using the command:

sudo serveradmin settings afp:activityLog = yes

The events that trigger log entries are in the afp:loggingAttributes array and are all enabled by default. There are no further controls for the verbosity of the afp logs. The next service is calendar. Similar to address book, the caldav server uses DefaultLogLevel to set how much data gets placed into logs:

sudo serveradmin settings calendar:DefaultLogLevel = “warn”

This by defualt logs to /var/log/caldavd/error.log, which is built based on the following, which sets the base:

sudo serveradmin settings calendar:LogRoot=/var/log/caldavd

And the following, which sets the file name in that directory:

sudo serveradmin settings calendar:ErrorLogFile=error.log

You can changing either by changing what comes after the = sign.
Profile Manager is called devicemgr in the serveradmin interface and I’ve found no way to augment the logging levels. Nor does its migration script ( /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/ServerSetup/MigrationExtras/80-devicemgrmigration.sh ) point to any increased logging during migration.

The dirserv (aka Open Directory) uses the slapconfig back-end, so I use slapconfig to increase logging:

sudo slapconfig -enableslapdlog

The DNS service uses named.conf, located in /etc to set log levels and has no serveradmin settings for doing so. Here, use the logging section and look for both the file setting (by default /Library/Logs/named.log) for where the log is stored as well as the severity setting, which can set the logging levels higher or lower.

By default Messages, or iChat Server, logs a lot. See the following for what is logged:

sudo serveradmin settings jabber:logLevel = “ALL”

Adding the -D option to the LaunchDaemon that invokes jabber will increase the logs. Logging long-term is handled in each of the xml files that make up the features of jabber. See the Logconfiguration section of the c2s file via:

The mail service has a number of options for logging, much of which has to do with the fact that it’s a patchy solution made up of postfix, etc. Global log locations are controlled using the mail:global:service_data_path key, which indicates a path that logs are stored in (as usual many of these are in /Library/Server):

To see the virus database logging levels (which should usually be set to warn):

sudo serveradmin settings mail:postfix:virus_db_log_level

To see the spamassassin logging levels:

sudo serveradmin settings mail:postfix:spam_log_level

To see the actual postfix logging level:

sudo serveradmin settings mail:postfix:log_level

To enable timestamps on logs:

sudo serveradmin settings mail:imap:logtimestamps = yes

To set the dovecot logging to info:

sudo serveradmin settings mail:imap:log_level = “info”

To set increased logging per function that dovecot performs, see the config files in /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/private/etc/dovecot/default/conf.d, each of which has a logging section to do so.

The NetBoot service is simple to configure logging for, simply set the netboot:logging_level to HIGH (by default it’s MEDIUM):

sudo serveradmin settings netboot:logging_level = “HIGH”

The Postgres service uses a log directory, configured with postgres:log_directory:

The last service is web (Apache). The default access logs are per-site, with a key called customLogPath existing for each. The defaultSite uses the following for its logs:

sudo serveradmin settings web:defaultSite:customLogPath

Swap out the defaultSite with another site to see its log paths. There’s also a key for errorLogPath that shows errors. These are per-site so that administrators can provide access to logs for the owners of each site and not fear them having access to logs for other users. Global error logs are stored in /private/var/log/apache2/error_log as defined in /private/etc/apache2/httpd.conf. Find LogLevel in this file and set it to configure how in depth the logs will be, using debug for the most verbose and info, notice, warn, error, crit, alert, and emerg to get incrementally less information.

Additionally the log formats can be set in /private/etc/apache2/httpd.conf, allowing administrators to configure Yosemite Server’s built-in web service to conform to the standards of most modern web log analyzers.

Conclusion

Overall, there’s a lot of information in these logs and administrators can spend as much time reviewing logs as they want. But other than standard system logs, the output is typically configured on a service-by-service basis. Some services offer a lot of options and others offering only a few. Some services also offer options within the serveradmin environment while others use their traditional locations in their configuration files. I’ll end this with a warning. There can also be a lot of output in these logs. Therefore, if you set the logging facilities high, make sure to keep a watchful eye on the capacity of the location you’re writing logs out to. The reason I looked at paths to logs where applicable was because you might want to consider redirecting logs to an external volume when debugging so as not to fill up a boot volume and cause even more problems than what you’re likely parsing through logs looking to fix…

The software patching configuration built into most operating systems is configured so all that a user has to do is open a box at home, join the network and start using the computer right away. As environments grow from homes to small offices and then small offices grow into enterprises, at some point software updates and patches need to be managed centrally. Yosemite Server (OS X Server 3), as with its OS X Server predecessors has a Software Update service. The service in the Server app is known as Software Update and from the command line is known as swupdate.

The Software Update service, by default, stores each update in the /var/db/swupd directory. The Software Update servie is actually comprised of three components. The first is an Apache server, invoked by the /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.swupdate.host.plist LaunchDaemon. This LaunchDaemon invokes a httpd process and clients access updates from the server based on a manifest of updates available in the sucatalog.

These are synchronized with Apple Software Updates via /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/sbin/swupd_syncd, the LaunchDaemon for swupdate at /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.swupdate.sync.plist. The Apache version is now Apache/2.2.22.

Clients can be pointed at the server then via a Profile or using the defaults command to edit the /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist file. The contents of this file can be read using the following command:

defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist

To point a client to a server via the command line, use a command such as the following:

But first, you’ll need to configure and start the Software Update service. Lucky you, it’s quick (although quick in a hurry up and wait kind of way). To get started, open the Server app and then click on the Software Update service.

By default, updates are set to simply mirror the Apple servers, by default, enabling each update that Apple publishes, effectively proxying updates. You can use the Manual button if you would like to configure updates to either manually be approved and manually synchronized or just manually approved but automatically copied from Apple. Otherwise click on the ON button and wait for the updates to cache to simply mirror the Apple servers.

If you would like to manually configure updates, click on the Manual option and then click on the Updates tab.

The first item in the Updates tab is the “Automatically download new updates” checkbox. This option downloads all of the updates but does not enable them. The Updates tab also displays all available updates. click on one and then click on the cog-wheel icon towards the bottom of the screen to configure its behavior (Download, Enable, Disable, Remove and View Update).

Note: The only option for updates in an Automatic configuration environment is disable.

The service can be managed using serveradmin. To start Software Update, use the start option, followed by the swupdate service identifier:

sudo serveradmin start swupdate

To stop the service, replace start with stop:

sudo serveradmin stop swupdate

To see the status of the service, including the location of updates, the paths to log files, when the service was started and the number of updates running, use the fullstatus option:

There are also a number of options available using the serveradmin settings that aren’t exposed to the Server app. These include a feature I used to use a lot in the beginning of deployments with poor bandwidth, only mirroring new updates, which is available to swupdate via the autoMirrorOnlyNew option. To configure:

sudo serveradmin settings swupdate:autoMirrorOnlyNew = yes

Also, the service can throttle bandwidth for clients. To use this option, run the following command:

sudo serveradmin settings swupdate:limitBandwidth = yes

And configure bandwidth using the syncBandwidth option, as follows:

sudo serveradmin settings swupdate:syncBandwidth = 10

To automatically sync updates but not enable them (as the checkboxes allow for in the Server app, use the following command:

sudo serveradmin settings swupdate:autoEnable = no

The port (by default 8088) can be managed using the portToUse option, here being used to set it to 80 (clients need this in their catalog URL from here on out):

sudo serveradmin settings swupdate:portToUse = 80

Finally, administrators can purge old packages that are no longer needed using the PurgeUnused option:

sudo serveradmin swupdate:PurgeUnused = yes

One of the biggest drawbacks of the Software Update service in OS X Yosemite Server in my opinion is the fact that it does not allow for serving 3rd party packages, from vendors such as Microsoft or Adobe. To provide those vendors with a manifest file and a quick little path option to add those manifest files, a nice middle ground could be found between the Mac App Store and the built in software update options in OS X. But then, we wouldn’t want to make it too easy.

Another issue many have had is that users need administrative passwords to run updates and don’t have them (technically this isn’t a problem with the OS X Server part of the stack, but it’s related). While many options have come up for this, one is to just run the softwareupdate command for clients via ARD or a similar tool.

Many environments have used these issues to look at tools such as Reposado or third party patch management tools such as JAMF Software’s the Casper Suite (JAMF also makes a reposado-based VM that mimics the swupdate options), FileWave, Absolute Manage and others. Overall, the update service in Yosemite Server is easily configured, easily managed and easily deployed to clients. It is what it needs to be for a large percentage of OS X Yosemite (10.10) Server administrators. This makes it a very viable option and if you’ve already got a Mountain Lion computer sitting around with clients not yet using a centralized update server, well worth enabling.

Web Services in Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, Linux and most versions of Unix are provided by Apache, an Open Source project that much of the Internet owes its origins to. Apache owes its name to the fact that it’s “a patchy” service. These patches are often mods, or modules. Configuring web services is as easy in OS X Mavericks Server (10.9) as it has ever been. To set up the default web portal, simply open the Server app, click on the Websites service and click on the ON button.

After a time, the service will start. Once running, click on the View Server Website link at the bottom of the pane.

Provided the stock OS X Server page loads, you are ready to use OS X Server as a web server.

Before we setup custom sites, there are a few things you should know. The first is, the server is no longer really designed to remove the default website. So if you remove the site, your server will exhibit inconsistent behavior. Also, don’t remove the files that comprise the default site. Instead just add sites, which is covered next. Webmail is gone. You don’t have to spend a ton of time looking for it as it isn’t there. Also, Mountain Lion Server added web apps, which we’ll briefly review later in this article as well, as those continue in Mavericks Server and subsequently in Yosemite Server. Finally, enabling PHP and Python on sites is done globally, so this setting applies to all sites hosted on the server.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s add our first custom site. Do so by clicking on the plus sign. At the New Web Site pane, you’ll be prompted for a number of options. The most important is the name of the site, with other options including the following:

Domain Name: The name the site is accessible from. The default sites do not have this option as they are accessible from all names that resolve to the server.

IP Address: The IP address the site listens on. Any means the site is available from every IP address the server is configured to use. The default websites do not have this option as they are accessible from all addresses automatically

Port: By default, sites without SSL run on port 80 on all network interfaces, and sites with SSL run on port 443 on all network interfaces. Use the Port field to use custom ports (e.g., 8080). The default sites do not have this option as they are configured to use 80 and 443 for default and SSL-based communications respectively.

SSL Certificate: Loads a list of SSL certificates installed using Keychain or the SSL Certificate option in the Settings pane of the Server application

Store Site Files In: The directory that the files that comprise the website are stored in. These can be placed into the correct directory using file shares or copying using the Finder. Click on the drop-down menu and then select Other to browse to the directory files are stored in.

Who Can Access: By default Anyone (all users, including unauthenticated guests) can access the contents of sites. Clicking on Anyone and then Customize… brings up the “Restrict access to the following folders to a chosen group” screen, where you can choose web directories and then define groups of users who can access the contents.

Additional Domains: Click on the Edit… button to bring up a simple list of domain names the the site also responds for (e.g. in addition to krypted.com, add www.krypted.com).

Redirects: Click on the Edit… button to bring up a list of redirects within the site. This allows configuring redirects to other sites. For example, use /en to load english.krypted.com or /cn to load china.krypted.com).

Aliases: Click on the Edit… button to load a list of aliases. This allows configuring redirects to folders within the same server. For example, /en loads /Library/Server/Web/Data/Sites/Default

Index Files: Click on the Edit… button to bring up a list of pages that are loaded when a page isn’t directly indicated. For example, when visiting krypted.com, load the wp.php page by default.

Advanced Options: The remaining options are available by clicking on the “Edit Advanced Settings…” button.

The Advanced Option include the following:

Enable Server Side Includes: Allows administrators to configure leveraging includes in web files, so that pieces of code can be used across multiple pages in sites.

Allow overrides using .htaccess files: Using a .htaccess file allows administrators to define who is able to access a given directory, defining custom user names and passwords in the hidden .htaccess file. These aren’t usually required in an OS X Server web environment as local and directory-based accounts can be used for such operations. This setting enables using custom .htaccess files instead of relying on Apple’s stock web permissions.

Allow folder listing: Enables folder listings on directories of a site that don’t have an Index File (described in the non-Advanced settings earlier).

Use custom error page: Allows administrators to define custom error pages, such as those annoying 404 error pages that load when a page can’t be found

Make these web apps available on this website: A somewhat advanced setting, loads items into the webapps array, which can be viewed using the following command: sudo serveradmin settings web:definedWebApps

Once you’ve configured all the appropriate options, click on Done to save your changes. The site should then load. Sites are then listed in the list of Websites.

The Apache service is most easily managed from the Server app, but there are too many options in Apache to really be able to put into a holistic graphical interface. The easiest way to manage the Websites service in OS X Yosemite Server is using the serveradmin command. Apache administrators from other platforms will be tempted to use the apachectl command to restart the Websites service. Instead, use the serveradmin command to do so. To start the service:

While the health option typically resembles kiosk computers in the Computer Science departments of most major universities, much of the rest of the output can be pretty helpful including the Apache version, whether the service is running, any restrictions on ports and the date/time stamp that the service was started.

To see all of the settings available to the serveradmin command, run it, followed by settings and then web, to indicate the Websites service:

sudo serveradmin settings web

The output is pretty verbose and can be considered in two sections, the first includes global settings across sites as well as the information for the default sites that should not be deleted:

Each site has its own configuration file defined in the array for each section. By default these are stored in the /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/sites directory, with /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/sites/0000_any_80_www2.krypted.com.conf being the file for the custom site we created previously. As you can see, many of the options available in the Server app are also available in these files:

The serveradmin command can also be used to run commands. For example, to reset the service to factory defaults, delete the configuration files for each site and then run the following command:

sudo serveradmin command web:command=restoreFactorySettings

The final tip I’m going to give in this article is when to make changes with each app. I strongly recommend making all of your changes in the Server app when possible. When it isn’t, use serveradmin and when you can’t make changes in serveradmin, only then alter the configuration files that come with the operating system by default. I also recommend keeping backups of all configuration files that are altered and a log of what was altered in each, in order to help piece the server back together should it become unconfigured miraculously when a softwareupdate -all is run next.

A wiki is a repository of dynamically created and managed content, or content created or edited by multiple users collaboratively. This article is about using the wiki service in Yosemite Server (the Apple Server app running on 10.10). I reference file services with WebDAV because it is a very nice integration piece that I think a lot of people will find pretty beneficial.
To get started with the Wiki service, first turn it on. This one isn’t heavily dependent on host names (other than being able to access the server from a browser) or directory services (other than being able to authenticate users, but local accounts are perfectly functional) and it doesn’t require the Websites service to be running as well. One should always have good working directory services and host names, still…

To enable the service, open the Server app and click on Wiki in the list of SERVICES in the List Pane.

There are two configuration options. The first is to select who is able to create wikis. Use the “Wikis can be created by” drop-down list to select “all users” if anyone with an account on the server should be able to create a wiki or “only some users” to bring up the Wiki Creators screen.

If only some users can create new wikis, use the plus sign (“+”) at the Wiki Creators screen to add users and/or groups to the list of users that can create wikis. Click on OK when all users and groups that can create wikis are added. In a school I would imagine that only teachers or IT staff would be able to create wikis. Once a wiki is created, pages inside the wiki can still be created by non-wiki creators.

The other option available is the handy dandy WebDAV interface to the wikis. When you enable this option, you can connect to a server from OS X or iOS via WebDAV and access files in each wikis document repository. To be clear, this option doesn’t provide access to the user documents, but does provide access to the wiki documents. We’re going to check the box for “Enable WebDAV access to Wiki files” and then click the ON button.

Once the service starts, click on the View Wiki link in the Wiki workspace in Server app.

Here, click on the Log in button and enter a user with access to the server, preferably one who can create wikis.

At the Wikis page, you will then see a list of all wikis you have access to. Note that the previous screen showed one wiki and now we see two. That’s because one of the wikis has permissions that allow “All unauthenticated users” access to the wiki, which we’ll describe shortly. The first thing most administrators will do is create a wiki. To do so, click on the plus sign (“+”) icon on the web page and at the resultant screen, click on New Wiki.

At the “Create a new wiki” prompt, provide a name for the wiki and a brief description for it.

Click on Continue.

At the Set permissions screen, enter each user or group to provide access to edit and view wiki pages. Here, you’ll have the options for Read & Write (users can view and edit pages in the wiki), Read only (users can only view the contents of your pages) and No access (users have no access to the wiki). There is a group for All logged in users, which includes every user with access to the server and another for All unauthorized users, which includes guests to the server. Once you’ve given the appropriate permissions, click on Continue.Note: You don’t have to get this perfect now as you can always edit these later.

At the Set Appearance screen, you can choose an icon for the wiki (shown in the wiki list and when you open the wiki) as well as a color scheme for the wiki. Choose the appropriate appearance for your wiki (again, you can always change this later) and then click on the Create button.

Once the setup is finished, you’ll see the Setup complete modal. Here, you can click on Go to Wiki button.

Once you’ve created your first wiki, let’s edit it and customize the content. To do so, click on it from the list of available wikis. Click on the cog-wheel icon and then Wiki Settings… to bring up the Wiki Settings page.

Here, you’ll see the previously entered name and description as well as options to enable Calendar (only available if Calendar Server is running on the server) and Blog, which enables a blog service for the wiki (wiki administrators can post blog entries to the wiki). Click on Appearance.

Here, you will have the previous two options as well as the ability to upload a banner (which should be 62 pixels high) and background for each wiki.

Click on Permissions. Here, you’ll see the permissions previously configured as well as options to configure who can comment on articles (nobody disables comments completely) in the wiki and whether comments require approval (moderation).

Click on Save. Now, let’s edit the splash page. To do so, click the pencil icon in the top navigation bar.

At the edit screen, the top nav bar is replaced by a WYSIWIG editor for managing the page. Here you can justify, link, insert media and of course edit the text you see on the screen. I recommend spending some time embedding links, inserting tables, making text look like you want it to and editing the content to reflect the purpose of the wiki. Click Save when you’re done. Click the pencil again to edit it, and let’s create a new wiki page. Keep in mind that link wikipedia, each page should be linked to from other pages in the order they should be read. Unlike most wikis, there’s actually an index page of all the articles, which can come in handy.

From the edit page, to create a new page and link to it, enter some text (or lasso some) that you’ll use as the link to access the new page you’re creating. Then click on the arrow and select “New page.”

Note: Use Enter URL to link to an existing page or an external website, instead of creating a new page.

At the New Page screen, provide a name for the new page (the lasso’d text automatically appears as the Page Title) and click on the Add button.

Click Save and then click on the newly created link. You can now edit the new page the same way you edited the previous pages. Click on the disclosure triangles in the right sidebar to Comment on articles, link articles to related articles, tag articles and view editing history.

Now for the fun part. Click on Documents. Here, you’ll see the pages you already created. Click on the plus sign and select the option to Upload File to the wiki.

At the Upload File dialog, click on Choose File and then select a file to upload.

Click Upload when selected.

Then from the Finder of an OS X client, use the Go menu to select “Connect to Server”. Enter the name or IP of the server and then click on Connect.

Assuming you can access the server, you should then be prompted for a username and password. Enter it and click Connect. Eventually, the file(s) will display (it can take awhile according to your network speeds and how many files are in the directory). You can connect to this same screen through an iPad using a 3rd party WebDAV client or the build in options in Pages.

Managing wikis is as easy as its ever been, with the new options for appearance being a nice add-on. Active Directory integration is as easy as binding the server to Active Directory and using the accounts listed in Permissions of pages. Overall, the ability to edit, upload and view documents from the Wiki is a great new feature in OS X Yosemite Server, worthy of checking out if you haven’t already!

Now that iOS devices can edit wikis and many of the traditional word processing options are available in the wiki editor, consider what the Wiki can be. Could it replace text editing apps for iOS? Could the Wiki allow for more collaborative documents than a Word or other document editor? Could it keep from getting eaten like the rest of the homework? Could the comments in the Wiki be a good way for teachers to have students write responses to materials? Could the Wiki and the document management features allow your workers to access human resources documents and employee manuals? I know plenty a tech firm that use wikis to track information about the systems they manage.

Once you have all of this information, upgrading can seem downright scary. But fear not, there’s Carbon Copy Cloner. And once you’ve cloned, there’s wikiadmin. When doing an upgrade in place, the Wiki service is pretty straight forward to upgrade, but in many cases, due to aging hardware, wiki services are moving from an older computer to a newer computer. This can be done in one of two ways. The first is to “migrate” the data by copying the Collaboration folder onto the new system. The second is to “export” and “import” the data. I usually recommend doing a migrate where possible, so we’ll start with that method.

Note: Before getting started, make sure that the directory services side of things is good. If a user or group lookup for an object that owns, edits or has commented on a wiki fails then that wiki probably shouldn’t be migrated. Use the dscl or id commands to confirm that lookups are functioning as intended.

To migrate wikis from one server to another, first copy the Collaboration directory to the new server. In this example, the directory has been dropped onto the desktop of the currently logged in user. To migrate the data once copied, use the wikiadmin command, along with the migration option. The option requires the path to the Collaboration folder, defined with -r, as follows:

sudo wikiadmin migrate -r ~/Desktop/Collaboration

When moving wikis, you can take the opportunity to get rid of a few you don’t want (such as that test wiki from way back when). Or administrators may just choose to move a single wiki to a new server in order to split the load across multiple hosts. When doing so, use the same command as earlier, along with the name of each wiki that is being moved, along with the -g option. For example, if moving the Legal wiki:

sudo wikiadmin migrate -r ~/Desktop/Collaboration -g Legal

The second way of moving wikis around is to export and then import them. To do so, first export wikis on the old server, using the wikiadmin command along with the export option, which requires an –exportPath option and needs to be done, on a wiki-by-wiki basis. So to export that Legal wiki to a file called LegalWikiTMP on the desktop:

sudo wikiadmin export -g Legal --exportPath ~/Desktop/LegalWikiTMP

Next, copy the wiki to the new server and import it, using the import option along with –importPath to identify where the file being imported is located. Using the same location, the command would then be:

sudo wikiadmin import -g Legal --importPath ~/Desktop/LegalWikiTMP

Note: The ability to import a wiki also allows for an API of sorts, as you can programmatically create wikis from other sources. The ability to export also provides a way to move into another wiki tool if you happen to outgrow the options provided in OS X Server and need to move to something more robust.

There is another way to move wikis, using pg_dump, copying the data and then using pg_restore to import the data once you’ve created the tables. This way is, in my opinion, the last resort if the standard wikiadmin commands aren’t working. In my experience, if I’m doing the migration this way then I’ve got other, bigger issues that I need to deal with as well.

These commands work best when the wiki service has been started so that the databases are fully built out. To start the wiki service from the command line, use the serveradmin command instead of the wikiadmin command. The serveradmin command is used with the start option and then wiki is used to indicate the wiki service, as follows:

sudo serveradmin start wiki

The service can also be stopped, swapping out the start option with a stop option:

sudo serveradmin stop wiki

In a few cases (this is the main reason I’m writing this article), the attachments to wikis don’t come over during a migration. To migrate the files that are used for QuickLook, downloading attachments, etc, use the serveradmin command to locate the directory that these objects are stored in:

sudo serveradmin settings wiki:FileDataPath

The output identifies the directory where these objects are stored. Placing the contents in the same relative path as they are to the output of the same command on the target server usually results in restoring them. Once moved, use the fixPermissions option to repair the permissions of any files from the source (if any changes to account IDs are encountered such as an export/import rather than an archive/restore in OD this can lead to odd issues:

sudo wikiadmin fixPermissions

Also use the rebuildSearchIndex option with the wikiadmin command to fix any indexing, once the permissions have been repaired:

sudo wikiadmin rebuildSearchIndex

And finally use resetQuicklooks to clear any cached Quicklook representations of objects that have been inserted into a wiki and might not display properly using Quicklook (you know you might need to do this if they look fine when downloaded but look bad with Quicklook even though QuickLook on the server can view the files just fine):

sudo wikiadmin resetQuicklooks

When done properly the migration can take awhile. Keep in mind that every tag, every article, every edit to every article and basically everything else is tracked inside the tables that you’re moving. While there might not be a ton of data in the Collaboration directory or in an export, all of the data needs to go to the right location. This can take a little time in environments that have a lot of articles, even if they’re really short articles…

The software patching configuration built into most operating systems is configured so all that a user has to do is open a box at home, join the network and start using the computer right away. As environments grow from homes to small offices and then small offices grow into enterprises, at some point software updates and patches need to be managed centrally. Mavericks Server (OS X Server 3), as with its OS X Server predecessors has a Software Update service. The service in the Server app is known as Software Update and from the command line is known as swupdate.

The Software Update service, by default, stores each update in the /var/db/swupd directory. The Software Update servie is actually comprised of three components. The first is an Apache server, invoked by the /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.swupdate.host.plist LaunchDaemon. This LaunchDaemon invokes a httpd process and clients access updates from the server based on a manifest of updates available in the sucatalog. These are synchronized with Apple Software Updates via /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/sbin/swupd_syncd, the LaunchDaemon for swupdate at /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.swupdate.sync.plist. The Apache version is now Apache/2.2.22.

Clients can be pointed at the server then via a Profile or using the defaults command to edit the /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist file. The contents of this file can be read using the following command:

defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist

To point a client to a server via the command line, use a command such as the following:

But first, you’ll need to configure and start the Software Update service. Lucky you, it’s quick (although quick in a hurry up and wait kind of way). To get started, open the Server app and then click on the Software Update service.

By default, updates are set to simply mirror the Apple servers, by default, enabling each update that Apple publishes, effectively proxying updates. You can use the Manual button if you would like to configure updates to either manually be approved and manually synchronized or just manually approved but automatically copied from Apple. Otherwise click on the ON button and wait for the updates to cache to simply mirror the Apple servers.

If you would like to manually configure updates, click on the Manual option and then click on the Updates tab.

The first item in the Updates tab is the “Automatically download new updates” checkbox. This option downloads all of the updates but does not enable them. The Updates tab also displays all available updates. click on one and then click on the cog-wheel icon towards the bottom of the screen to configure its behavior (Download, Enable, Disable, Remove and View Update).

Note: The only option for updates in an Automatic configuration environment is disable.

The service can be managed using serveradmin. To start Software Update, use the start option, followed by the swupdate service identifier:

sudo serveradmin start swupdate

To stop the service, replace start with stop:

sudo serveradmin stop swupdate

To see the status of the service, including the location of updates, the paths to log files, when the service was started and the number of updates running, use the fullstatus option:

There are also a number of options available using the serveradmin settings that aren’t exposed to the Server app. These include a feature I used to use a lot in the beginning of deployments with poor bandwidth, only mirroring new updates, which is available to swupdate via the autoMirrorOnlyNew option. To configure:

sudo serveradmin settings swupdate:autoMirrorOnlyNew = yes

Also, the service can throttle bandwidth for clients. To use this option, run the following command:

sudo serveradmin settings swupdate:limitBandwidth = yes

And configure bandwidth using the syncBandwidth option, as follows:

sudo serveradmin settings swupdate:syncBandwidth = 10

To automatically sync updates but not enable them (as the checkboxes allow for in the Server app, use the following command:

sudo serveradmin settings swupdate:autoEnable = no

The port (by default 8088) can be managed using the portToUse option, here being used to set it to 80 (clients need this in their catalog URL from here on out):

sudo serveradmin settings swupdate:portToUse = 80

Finally, administrators can purge old packages that are no longer needed using the PurgeUnused option:

sudo serveradmin swupdate:PurgeUnused = yes

One of the biggest drawbacks of the Software Update service in OS X Mavericks Server in my opinion is the fact that it does not allow for serving 3rd party packages, from vendors such as Microsoft or Adobe. To provide those vendors with a manifest file and a quick little path option to add those manifest files, a nice middle ground could be found between the Mac App Store and the built in software update options in OS X. But then, we wouldn’t want to make it too easy.

Another issue many have had is that users need administrative passwords to run updates and don’t have them (technically this isn’t a problem with the OS X Server part of the stack, but it’s related). While many options have come up for this, one is to just run the softwareupdate command for clients via ARD or a similar tool.

Many environments have used these issues to look at tools such as Reposado or third party patch management tools such as JAMF Software’s the Casper Suite (JAMF also makes a reposado-based VM that mimics the swupdate options), FileWave, Absolute Manage and others. Overall, the update service in Mavericks Server is easily configured, easily managed and easily deployed to clients. It is what it needs to be for a large percentage of OS X Mavericks (10.9) Server administrators. This makes it a very viable option and if you’ve already got a Mountain Lion computer sitting around with clients not yet using a centralized update server, well worth enabling.

Web Services in Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, Linux and most versions of Unix are provided by Apache, an Open Source project that much of the Internet owes its origins to. Apache owes its name to the fact that it’s “a patchy” service. These patches are often mods, or modules. Configuring web services is as easy in OS X Mavericks Server (10.9) as it has ever been. To set up the default web portal, simply open the Server app, click on the Websites service and click on the ON button.

After a time, the service will start. Once running, click on the View Server Website link at the bottom of the pane.

Provided the stock OS X Server page loads, you are ready to use OS X Server as a web server.

Before we setup custom sites, there are a few things you should know. The first is, the server is no longer really designed to remove the default website. So if you remove the site, your server will exhibit inconsistent behavior. Also, don’t remove the files that comprise the default site. Instead just add sites, which is covered next. Webmail is gone. You don’t have to spend a ton of time looking for it as it isn’t there. Also, Mountain Lion Server added web apps, which we’ll briefly review later in this article as well, as those continue in Mavericks Server. Finally, enabling PHP and Python on sites is done globally, so this setting applies to all sites hosted on the server.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s add our first custom site. Do so by clicking on the plus sign. At the New Web Site pane, you’ll be prompted for a number of options. The most important is the name of the site, with other options including the following:

Domain Name: The name the site is accessible from. The default sites do not have this option as they are accessible from all names that resolve to the server.

IP Address: The IP address the site listens on. Any means the site is available from every IP address the server is configured to use. The default websites do not have this option as they are accessible from all addresses automatically

Port: By default, sites without SSL run on port 80 on all network interfaces, and sites with SSL run on port 443 on all network interfaces. Use the Port field to use custom ports (e.g., 8080). The default sites do not have this option as they are configured to use 80 and 443 for default and SSL-based communications respectively.

SSL Certificate: Loads a list of SSL certificates installed using Keychain or the SSL Certificate option in the Settings pane of the Server application

Store Site Files In: The directory that the files that comprise the website are stored in. These can be placed into the correct directory using file shares or copying using the Finder. Click on the drop-down menu and then select Other to browse to the directory files are stored in.

Who Can Access: By default Anyone (all users, including unauthenticated guests) can access the contents of sites. Clicking on Anyone and then Customize… brings up the “Restrict access to the following folders to a chosen group” screen, where you can choose web directories and then define groups of users who can access the contents.

Additional Domains: Click on the Edit… button to bring up a simple list of domain names the the site also responds for (e.g. in addition to krypted.com, add www.krypted.com).

Redirects: Click on the Edit… button to bring up a list of redirects within the site. This allows configuring redirects to other sites. For example, use /en to load english.krypted.com or /cn to load china.krypted.com).

Aliases: Click on the Edit… button to load a list of aliases. This allows configuring redirects to folders within the same server. For example, /en loads /Library/Server/Web/Data/Sites/Default

Index Files: Click on the Edit… button to bring up a list of pages that are loaded when a page isn’t directly indicated. For example, when visiting krypted.com, load the wp.php page by default.

Advanced Options: The remaining options are available by clicking on the “Edit Advanced Settings…” button.

Enable Server Side Includes: Allows administrators to configure leveraging includes in web files, so that pieces of code can be used across multiple pages in sites.

Allow overrides using .htaccess files: Using a .htaccess file allows administrators to define who is able to access a given directory, defining custom user names and passwords in the hidden .htaccess file. These aren’t usually required in an OS X Server web environment as local and directory-based accounts can be used for such operations. This setting enables using custom .htaccess files instead of relying on Apple’s stock web permissions.

Allow folder listing: Enables folder listings on directories of a site that don’t have an Index File (described in the non-Advanced settings earlier).

Use custom error page: Allows administrators to define custom error pages, such as those annoying 404 error pages that load when a page can’t be found

Make these web apps available on this website: A somewhat advanced setting, loads items into the webapps array, which can be viewed using the following command: sudo serveradmin settings web:definedWebApps

Once you’ve configured all the appropriate options, click on Done to save your changes. The site should then load. Sites are then listed in the list of Websites.

The Apache service is most easily managed from the Server app, but there are too many options in Apache to really be able to put into a holistic graphical interface. The easiest way to manage the Websites service in OS X Mavericks server is using the serveradmin command. Apache administrators from other platforms will be tempted to use the apachectl command to restart the Websites service. Instead, use the serveradmin command to do so. To start the service:

While the health option typically resembles kiosk computers in the Computer Science departments of most major universities, much of the rest of the output can be pretty helpful including the Apache version, whether the service is running, any restrictions on ports and the date/time stamp that the service was started.

To see all of the settings available to the serveradmin command, run it, followed by settings and then web, to indicate the Websites service:

sudo serveradmin settings web

The output is pretty verbose and can be considered in two sections, the first includes global settings across sites as well as the information for the default sites that should not be deleted:

Each site has its own configuration file defined in the array for each section. By default these are stored in the /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/sites directory, with /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/sites/0000_any_80_www2.krypted.com.conf being the file for the custom site we created previously. As you can see, many of the options available in the Server app are also available in these files:

The serveradmin command can also be used to run commands. For example, to reset the service to factory defaults, delete the configuration files for each site and then run the following command:

sudo serveradmin command web:command=restoreFactorySettings

The final tip I’m going to give in this article is when to make changes with each app. I strongly recommend making all of your changes in the Server app when possible. When it isn’t, use serveradmin and when you can’t make changes in serveradmin, only then alter the configuration files that come with the operating system by default. I also recommend keeping backups of all configuration files that are altered and a log of what was altered in each, in order to help piece the server back together should it become unconfigured miraculously when a softwareupdate -all is run next.

OS X Mountain Lion has a lot of scripts used for enabling services, setting states, changing hostnames and the like. Once upon a time there was a script for OS X Server called server setup. It was a beautiful but too simplistic kind of script. Today, much of that logic has been moved out into more granular scripts, kept in /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/ServerSetup, used by the server to perform all kinds of tasks. These scripts are, like a lot of other things in Mountain Lion Server. Some of these include the configuration of amavisd, docecot and alerts. These scripts can also be used for migrating services and data, such as /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/ServerSetup/MigrationExtras/30-ipfwmigrator. Sometimes the scripts are in bash, sometimes ruby, sometimes perl and other times even python.

Additionally, there’s a directory /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/ServerSetup/MigrationExtras/ that is full of scripts for migrating services in OS X Server, helpful for even services that have been seemingly deprecated.

One of the things that can can be useful about the scripts scattered throughout the Server app is to learn how the developers of OS X Server intend for certain tasks to occur. One such example is /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/ServerSetup/loggather.sh, used to grab logs. Here, you can learn the locations of certain logs as well as rudimentary stackshot commands. This is where I started calling stackshot before I did Server installs (or during), using the following command, which creates a custom text file containing :

This is also where I learned that I can tail /tmp/SetupLogs.tgz during some installs to be able to watch what’s going on during the installation process:

tail -f /tmp/SetupLogs.tgz

Looking At Each Service

This is also where I learned that Apple had put an Open Directory backup script in /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/libexec/server_backup/opendirectorybackup (that still requires a password). But what I haven’t seen in all of these logs is bumping up the logging level for services before performing tasks, so that you can see a verbose output of what’s going on. To do this, it looks like we’re going service-by-service. So let’s look alphabetically, starting with Address Book:

sudo serveradmin settings addressbook:DefaultLogLevel = "warn"

This by defualt logs to /var/log/caldavd/error.log, which is built based on the following, which sets the base:

sudo serveradmin settings addressbook:LogRoot=/var/log/caldavd

And the following, which sets the file name in that directory:

sudo serveradmin settings addressbook:ErrorLogFile=error.log

You can change either by changing what comes after the = sign.

Next is afp. This service logs output to two places. The first is with errors to the service, using /Library/Logs/AppleFileService/AppleFileServiceError.log, the path designated in the following:

The activity log is disabled by default and enabled using the command:

sudo serveradmin settings afp:activityLog = yes

The events that trigger log entries are in the afp:loggingAttributes array and are all enabled by default. There are no further controls for the verbosity of the afp logs.

The next service is calendar. Similar to address book, the caldav server uses DefaultLogLevel to set how much data gets placed into logs:

sudo serveradmin settings calendar:DefaultLogLevel = "warn"

This by defualt logs to /var/log/caldavd/error.log, which is built based on the following, which sets the base:

sudo serveradmin settings calendar:LogRoot=/var/log/caldavd

And the following, which sets the file name in that directory:

sudo serveradmin settings calendar:ErrorLogFile=error.log

You can changing either by changing what comes after the = sign.

Profile Manager is called devicemgr in the serveradmin interface and I’ve found no way to augment the logging levels. Nor does its migration script ( /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/System/Library/ServerSetup/MigrationExtras/80-devicemgrmigration.sh ) point to any increased logging during migration.

The dirserv (aka Open Directory) uses the slapconfig back-end, so I use slapconfig to increase logging:

sudo slapconfig -enableslapdlog

The DNS service uses named.conf, located in /etc to set log levels and has no serveradmin settings for doing so. Here, use the logging section and look for both the file setting (by default /Library/Logs/named.log) for where the log is stored as well as the severity setting, which can set the logging levels higher or lower.

By default Messages, or iChat Server, logs a lot. See the following for what is logged:

sudo serveradmin settings jabber:logLevel = "ALL"

Adding the -D option to the LaunchDaemon that invokes jabber will increase the logs. Logging long-term is handled in each of the xml files that make up the features of jabber. See the Logconfiguration section of the c2s file via:

The mail service has a number of options for logging, much of which has to do with the fact that it’s a patchy solution made up of postfix, etc. To see the virus database logging levels (which should usually be set to warn):

sudo serveradmin settings mail:postfix:virus_db_log_level

To see the spamassassin logging levels:

sudo serveradmin settings mail:postfix:spam_log_level

To see the actual postfix logging level:

sudo serveradmin settings mail:postfix:log_level

To enable timestamps on logs:

sudo serveradmin settings mail:imap:logtimestamps = yes

To set the dovecot logging:

sudo serveradmin settings mail:imap:log_level = "warn"

To set increased logging per function that dovecot performs, see the config files in /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/private/etc/dovecot/default/conf.d, each of which has a logging section to do so.

The NetBoot service is simple to configure logging for, simply set the netboot:logging_level to HIGH (by default it’s MEDIUM):

sudo serveradmin settings netboot:logging_level = "HIGH"

The Postgres service uses a log directory, configured with postgres:log_directory:

The last service is web (Apache). The default access logs are per-site, with a key called customLogPath existing for each. The defaultSite uses the following for its logs:

sudo serveradmin settings web:defaultSite:customLogPath

Swap out the defaultSite with another site to see its log paths. There’s also a key for errorLogPath that shows errors. These are per-site so that administrators can provide access to logs for the owners of each site and not fear them having access to logs for other users. Global error logs are stored in /private/var/log/apache2/error_log as defined in /private/etc/apache2/httpd.conf. Find LogLevel in this file and set it to configure how in depth the logs will be, using debug for the most verbose and info, notice, warn, error, crit, alert, and emerg to get incrementally less information.

Additionally the log formats can be set in /private/etc/apache2/httpd.conf, allowing administrators to configure Mountain Lion Server’s built-in web service to conform to the standards of most modern web log analyzers.

Conclusion

Overall, there’s a lot of information in these logs and administrators can spend as much time reviewing logs as they want. But other than standard system logs, the output is typically configured on a service-by-service basis. Some services offer a lot of options and others offering only a few. Some services also offer options within the serveradmin environment while others use their traditional locations in their configuration files. I’ll end this with a warning. There can also be a lot of output in these logs. Therefore, if you set the logging facilities high, make sure to keep a watchful eye on the capacity of the location you’re writing logs out to. The reason I looked at paths to logs where applicable was because you might want to consider redirecting logs to an external volume when debugging so as not to fill up a boot volume and cause even more problems than what you’re likely parsing through logs looking to fix…

Configuring web services is as easy in OS X Mountain Lion Server (10.8) as it has ever been. To set up the default web portal, simply open the Server app, click on the Websites service and click on the ON button.

After a time, the service will start. Once running, click on the View Server Website link at the bottom of the pane.

Provided the stock OS X Server page loads, you are ready to use OS X Server as a web server.

Before we setup custom sites, there are a few things you should know. The first is, the server is no longer really designed to remove the default website. So if you remove the site, your server will exhibit inconsistent behavior. Also, don’t remove the files that comprise the default site. Instead just add sites, which is covered next. Webmail is gone. You don’t have to spend a ton of time looking for it as it isn’t there. Also, Mountain Lion Server adds web apps, which we’ll briefly review later in this article as well. Finally, enabling PHP and Python on sites is done globally, so this setting applies to all sites hosted on the server.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s add our first custom site. Do so by clicking on the plus sign. At the New Web Site pane, you’ll be prompted for a number of options. The most important is the name of the site, with other options including the following:

Domain Name: The name the site is accessible from. The default sites do not have this option as they are accessible from all names that resolve to the server.

IP Address: The IP address the site listens on. Any means the site is available from every IP address the server is configured to use. The default websites do not have this option as they are accessible from all addresses automatically

Port: By default, sites without SSL run on port 80 on all network interfaces, and sites with SSL run on port 443 on all network interfaces. Use the Port field to use custom ports (e.g., 8080). The default sites do not have this option as they are configured to use 80 and 443 for default and SSL-based communications respectively.

SSL Certificate: Loads a list of SSL certificates installed using Keychain or the SSL Certificate option in the Settings pane of the Server application

Store Site Files In: The directory that the files that comprise the website are stored in. These can be placed into the correct directory using file shares or copying using the Finder. Click on the drop-down menu and then select Other to browse to the directory files are stored in.

Who Can Access: By default Anyone (all users, including unauthenticated guests) can access the contents of sites. Clicking on Anyone and then Customize… brings up the “Restrict access to the following folders to a chosen group” screen, where you can choose web directories and then define groups of users who can access the contents.

Additional Domains: Click on the Edit… button to bring up a simple list of domain names the the site also responds for (e.g. in addition to krypted.com, add www.krypted.com).

Redirects: Click on the Edit… button to bring up a list of redirects within the site. This allows configuring redirects to other sites. For example, use /en to load english.krypted.com or /cn to load china.krypted.com).

Aliases: Click on the Edit… button to load a list of aliases. This allows configuring redirects to folders within the same server. For example, /en loads /Library/Server/Web/Data/Sites/Default

Index Files: Click on the Edit… button to bring up a list of pages that are loaded when a page isn’t directly indicated. For example, when visiting krypted.com, load the wp.php page by default.

Advanced Options: The remaining options are available by clicking on the “Edit Advanced Settings…” button.

Enable Server Side Includes: Allows administrators to configure leveraging includes in web files, so that pieces of code can be used across multiple pages in sites.

Allow overrides using .htaccess files: Using a .htaccess file allows administrators to define who is able to access a given directory, defining custom user names and passwords in the hidden .htaccess file. These aren’t usually required in an OS X Server web environment as local and directory-based accounts can be used for such operations. This setting enables using custom .htaccess files instead of relying on Apple’s stock web permissions.

Allow folder listing: Enables folder listings on directories of a site that don’t have an Index File (described in the non-Advanced settings earlier).

Use custom error page: Allows administrators to define custom error pages, such as those annoying 404 error pages that load when a page can’t be found

Make these web apps available on this website: A somewhat advanced setting, loads items into the webapps array, which can be viewed using the following command: sudo serveradmin settings web:definedWebApps

Once you’ve configured all the appropriate options, click on Done to save your changes. The site should then load. Sites are then listed in the list of Websites.

The Apache service is most easily managed from the Server app, but there are too many options in Apache to really be able to put into a holistic graphical interface. The easiest way to manage the Websites service in OS X Mountain Lion server is using the serveradmin command. Apache administrators from other platforms will be tempted to use the apachectl command to restart the Websites service. Instead, use the serveradmin command to do so. To start the service:

While the health option typically resembles kiosk computers in the Computer Science departments of most major universities, much of the rest of the output can be pretty helpful including the Apache version, whether the service is running, any restrictions on ports and the date/time stamp that the service was started.

To see all of the settings available to the serveradmin command, run it, followed by settings and then web, to indicate the Websites service:

sudo serveradmin settings web

The output is pretty verbose and can be considered in two sections, the first includes global settings across sites as well as the information for the default sites that should not be deleted:

Each site has its own configuration file defined in the array for each section. By default these are stored in the /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/sites directory, with /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/sites/0000_any_80_www2.krypted.com.conf being the file for the custom site we created previously. As you can see, many of the options available in the Server app are also available in these files:

The serveradmin command can also be used to run commands. For example, to reset the service to factory defaults, delete the configuration files for each site and then run the following command:

sudo serveradmin command web:command=restoreFactorySettings

The final tip I’m going to give in this article is when to make changes with each app. I strongly recommend making all of your changes in the Server app when possible. When it isn’t, use serveradmin and when you can’t make changes in serveradmin, only then alter the configuration files that come with the operating system by default. I also recommend keeping backups of all configuration files that are altered and a log of what was altered in each, in order to help piece the server back together should it become unconfigured miraculously when a softwareupdate -all is run next.

I have been added as a speaker at MacTech InDepth in New York. If you haven’t signed up yet, and you work with Mac OS X Server then you should really check out the sessions that have been planned:

The Elephant in the Room: The New Lion OS X is out, now what? There are a lot of differences to contend with between Lion and Snow Leopard. Now with the new Mountain Lion update, what changes can we expect to see? We discuss the differences in advanced services, GUI simplicity, and Apache management GUI’s. We help you understand the updates in the new OS and make the transition easier. We go over the new updates of Lion over the Snow Leopard server.

Setting solid foundations: To truly grasp the power of Lion, you need to set up solid foundations. We go over minimum requirements for internet DNS, and tackle router tricks. We discuss open directory and what it was used for.

Mobile Device Management 101: Apple’s IPCU/Apple Configurator: Mobile Device Management is vital to businesses, large or small. We have an extensive overview of profile manager and how you can use mobile device management on OS X. For those still using Snow Leopard, we go over your options and discuss the possibility of using third parties as a solution.

DNS, Ahh, run away, run away: In this session, we tackle DNS and break it down and show how simple it is to work with. We go over how DNS works and cover different components such as internet DNS and internal DNS.

Administering a Server with just Server.app: We show you how to use server.app and control administrative programs. For the services, we go over Address Book, iCal, iChat, and Mail.

Web Administration of OS X Server: Web Admin on Lion Server versus Snow Leopard is covered, dealing with the differences and how to use each system effectively. On Lion server, we cover using FTP without a GUI.

Going old school, using the old tools: After getting used to Snow Leopard we go over the major differences between Snow and Lion and how you can handle the transition. We go over server admin and what is still left in the program and why it has been left.

Deployment Part I: Tools & Concepts: In tools and concepts we learn that there aren’t stark differences between Lion server and Snow Leopard. NetBoot, NetRestore and third party tools are covered; we talk about how NetBoot works and what the differences between NetBoot and NetRestore are. Along with this we cover Network configuration requirements and using software update server.

Overall, this represents a nice, fast way to update your skills to allow for managing Lion Server and to get up to speed with those new to the platform. One thing I like about the session list is that it goes beyond the stock server implementation and looks at DeployStudio, MDM and other important topics not purely server oriented. I hope to see you all there!

These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it – New York, New York